


headfirst

by shishiswordsman



Series: between the devil and the deep blue sea [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Conversations, Canon Rewrite, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Getting Together, LawLu Big Bang 2018-2019, Luffy Being Luffy, M/M, Pre-Relationship, References to Depression, Trafalgar Law Is A Fool
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-11-16 09:22:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18091685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shishiswordsman/pseuds/shishiswordsman
Summary: Luffy gets a stomach ache whenever he sees Law, and he can’t figure out why. With his crew’s help, Luffy embarks on a quest — to make Law smile again (and maybe figure out that stomach ache in the process).Or, alternatively: A story about stomach aches, nakama, and developing trust. A story about Law and Luffy, and the evolution of an alliance.





	1. blanket promises

The first time Luffy met Law, they were on Sabaody Archipelago. Luffy didn’t pay attention to him, then — just noted that he seemed strong, had a cool power, and an even cooler bear.

Their second meeting is something that eludes him. There’s a lot to remember of the island of Women, and most of it was buried with his brother. The feeling of the skin on his knuckles breaking against metal and machine; against trees and stone. Jimbei. Pain. Loss. Nakama.

Law’s in there somewhere, mushed into small glimpses that all but drown under the weight of, well… _Everything else._

The third time they meet is on an island made of fire and ice. Snow pelts the ground around them, adding to the already mounding whiteness, and the wind howls a lonely tune. Trafalgar Law stands on a summit, his frame silhouetted by the rising sun, and the future king of pirates stands on the snow below, meeting his gaze.

“I propose an alliance,” Law says, and Luffy listens. “Let’s join our forces to take down one of the Emperors.”

He can hear Nami saying something, telling him not to do it. Snow swirls around them, carried by the demanding gales that the hot-cold island creates. A large snowflake hits Luffy’s nose, another already melting on his cheek.

There’s one thing he must know.

“Which one?” he asks casually, hoping that the answer won’t be the name of the man who bargained a limb for his life. Not because he’s worried for Shanks’ safety, not at all — he simply owes Law his life, too. Sending him off to his death against Red Hair wouldn’t exactly be repaying him, would it?

Wind whirls and howls. It tries to steal Law’s words from Luffy’s ears, and almost succeeds. Luffy watches Law’s lips form the shape of a word: the name of the Emperor they will beat.

 _It’s not Shanks,_ Luffy realises, and his lips curve into a grin as his eyes flick up to meet Law’s determined gaze.

Not a word passes between them, and time seems to still as excitement bubbles inside of him. Suddenly, Luffy knows Law will be his nakama as surely as he knows that Law’s alone on this island, without anyone to watch his back.

The words tumble out of his mouth before Nami has time to tell him to choke on them. Luffy laughs, his eyes closing as snow gathers on the brim of his straw hat. As he declares their alliance, speaks it into existence, Luffy watches Law, and he doesn’t miss the genuine smile on his new ally’s face.

Nor does he miss Nami’s resigned groan.ou’re going to get us killed one of these days, Luffy,” she mourns, but Luffy knows she trusts his judgement. And even if she didn’t, it wouldn’t change much. He’s got a good feeling about this.

“Don’t worry, Nami,” he assures. As Law makes his way down to them, Luffy grins, patting Law’s back a couple of times as the taller pirate walks by. “Torao saved me back in the war, he’s a good guy!”

Law says nothing to that and Nami sighs, mutters something about Luffy and recklessness. Luffy laughs, steeples his fingers behind his head, his elbows sticking out as he walks proudly back toward Brown Guy’s cave. The cold is sharp, and Luffy likes it, even though his toes are kind of sort of freezing. He doesn’t pay that much mind. The prickling on his skin feels nice, actually.

Snow’s funny — like white cotton candy that tastes like nothing but cold water. Maybe that’s why Chopper likes cotton candy? Since he’s from a winter island?

Law’s saying something to him, Luffy realises belatedly, his eyes catching on the redness at the tip of Law’s nose. Law doesn’t seem to notice, or if he does, he says nothing. By the time they get to the cave, Luffy’s toes are turning a neat shade of red.

The kids are real big and really angry about it, and it’s all very confusing. But Luffy knows Chopper and Nami want to help them and he doesn’t really mind doing that along with everything else.

He accompanies Law and Chopper for a little while, mostly because the promise of candy is too tempting to pass up on.

There’s a gas guy, then lots of marines, and then a snow lady, and then a dragon. Luffy decides he likes this hot-cold island. It gets all weird and things happen fast, then.

When Luffy tells Law to trust Nami and Usopp, he doesn't protest, even though Luffy can tell the gassy guy means a whole lot to him. No, Law stands back and watches with a blank look in his eye as Nami moulds thunderclouds like clay and Usopp catches what falls from the sky like a spider would a fly.

Luffy grins, clapping delightedly at their success.

From the corner of his eye, he sees Law stifle what might have been a smile.

By the end of it they’re partying on the shore with Smokey, and Luffy’s pretty happy about this whole ‘having an ally’-thing. Sanji’s made some awesome food, he got to sit on Brownbeard’s head, and they’re about to head off to find even more adventures.

He takes in the sight of his nakama enjoying themselves, soaks in their joy, and Luffy whoops as he uses two marines from Smokey’s battalion to rocket himself across the field to where his swordsman and shipwright are talking with his sniper and (Luffy’s stomach does a little cartwheel of excitement) his brand-new ally.

Franky guffaws out a barking laugh, claps Law on the back hard enough to make Law blink in shock. “You don’t know the half of it, Torao-bro! Just wait and see.”

“Yeah, this is what it’s going to be like for as long as you’re allied with us, Torao,” he hears Usopp tell Law, repeating his own words from earlier.

The expression on Law’s face is enough to make Zoro inhale his sake, and Luffy laughs at them both.

Yeah, this alliance thing will be fun.

Some moments later, Luffy's sitting on the bench that encircles the main mast of the Sunny, announcing their alliance. His nakama are scattered around him, talking about what happened on the island, talking about the kids and the marines and the _everything._

A lot has happened today, and as far as Luffy’s concerned, that means it’s been a good one. He stands up on the bench, excitement warming his cheeks. "Listen up, guys! I forgot to tell you, but we're gonna have an alliance with Torao, so we'll be working together!"

The conversation stops, like it’s been cut with one of Zoro’s swords. At the resounding chorus of questions and accusations, Luffy laughs, his eyes closing with mirth. When he looks back to his crew, they’ve mostly settled. Nami is shaking her head.

“Well, I hope you realise what you’ve gotten yourself into, Torao,” Sanji says, biting lightly into a cigarette. “You’d be hard pressed to find someone more stubborn and idiotic than our captain.”

Law says nothing, but the tightness around his mouth belies his thoughts.

Luffy laughs at them both, and bit by bit the Sunny eases into routine. The conversation returns to its tracks, and Luffy rests his head back. Sleep tugs at him, but Law’s talking, and he should probably listen.

"Weakening Kaido's army of SMILE users will make the battle against him considerably easier. The destruction of the SAD laboratory is imperative to our success later, so I'm counting on all of you." Law’s voice is deep and smooth, like velvet in Luffy’s ears. He sounds so invested in what he’s talking about, too, even though it really doesn’t seem all that important to Luffy.

Luffy yawns, shrugging. “Okay, so we beat up Kaido.”

Someone slaps the back of Luffy’s head hard enough to topple him off balance and onto the ground. "Were you even listening?" Nami snaps, shaking her fist right in front of Luffy’s face.

Luffy gets back up on the bench, and blinks drowsily at her. “Yeah, sure.” He wasn’t really listening that much if he’s honest, though, so Luffy tries again, really giving it some thought: “We’re, uh… I know! We’re robbing Kaido’s smile. I got it.”

Beside him, Law shakes his head. “You are rather simple, aren’t you, Straw Hat-ya?”

Luffy laughs at the look of shock on his new ally’s face. "You're a funny guy, Torao!"

Law sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Whatever you say. Let me ask you this: are you taking this seriously at all?"

Luffy nods decisively, his hands fisted on both sides of his hips. “Yup! I say so. Now, why don’t we just go straight to Kaido?”

“I explained it two minutes ago,” Law snaps, then sighs. “We’re going to attack the island of Dressrosa first. When Doflamingo falls, Kaido’s access to SMILE be cut off. He won’t have as much battle power, so he’ll be easier to defeat. Do you understand?”

Luffy nods. “We’ll have an easier time fighting Kaido. Okay.”

“Finally,” Law groans.

“Where’s your crew?” Usopp asks, and Luffy knows Law doesn’t think he notices it when his face falls the tiniest bit. Luffy also knows he doesn’t like seeing his new ally sad. He shoves a finger up his nose, thinks for a moment, and then says, “Go away, Usopp!”

 “Hey, what did I do?”

“Gooooooooooooo.”

Usopp holds his hands in the air like he’s surrendering. “Okay, okay, sheesh. I’ll go.”

“You didn’t need to do that."

“I know. Usopp gets it, though. Hey, is it hard to make that SAD thing?”

Law sighs, and he’s got this funny, hesitant expression on his face, like he’s not sure if he’s made the right call. His explanation is white noise in Luffy’s ears, but he gathers that Law knows a lot of stuff and he likes talking about things he knows. That’s cool.

“— so the manufacturing process is rather convoluted, as far as I can tell.” Law stops talking, and annoyance draws his eyebrows high on his face, pinching his features into a scowl. “You’re not listening to me at all, are you?”

Luffy shrugs. “You were talking about the SAD stuff. It sounds boring.”

“It’s not boring, Straw Hat-ya, it’s —” Law sighs. “It’s pointless. Talking to you is utterly pointless.”

“No it’s not!” Luffy frowns. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you appear to have the intelligence of half a clam.”

“Clams are tasty.”

Law shakes his head, though Luffy thinks he can see the hint of a smile curving his lips. Something tugs in Luffy’s chest seeing that, and he follows that impulse when he says, voice sincere, “Aa, Torao? Thanks for saving me back then, at Marineford.”

Law glances to him, the motion jerky and sudden. He evaluates Luffy with his gaze, and Luffy waits, grinning. The moment lasts for no more than a couple of minutes, before Law breaks it with a scoff. “You don’t need to thank me, Straw Hat-ya.”

“Of course I do! I would have died without you!” Luffy leans back against the main mast, feeling the warmth of the sun on his skin, the sea breeze pushing into his nose, salt on the tip of his tongue. He likes being alive. “You’re a pretty nice guy, you know?”

There’s a pause, and Law huffs out an exhale. “Don’t mistake my kindness for stupidity,” Law says, the words clipped, stilted, awkward. “Don’t mistake it for kindness either, though.”

“That makes no sense. What is it, then?” Luffy asks, because, well. Law definitely sounds pretty stupid right about now. When he tells the older man as much, he earns a glare.

“I acted on a whim.” Law pauses, shifts his weight. “That whim could have told me to leave you to die just as easily.”

“I do things on a whim all the time and it works pretty well,” Luffy agrees. “So, thanks! I owe you one, Torao.”

Law opens his mouth as if to say something, but closes it immediately after. He tilts his chin down so the brim of his fur cap covers his eyes, and Luffy hears him make a low noise. It sounds like a laugh. “If you say so, Straw Hat-ya.”

Luffy smiles at him.

* * *

On the way to Dressroba, they’re attacked. It sucks.

Luffy would usually appreciate the morning workout — it’s fun to start the day with a good fight — this time it’s annoying for a couple of reasons.

One is that they’d attacked before he’d even had the chance to ask Sanji for a second breakfast. The other is that Torao says they’re in a hurry to get to Dressroba, and the attack really set him on edge. He’s worried about not making it on time, Luffy guesses. He’s sure they’ll get there, though, so Law shouldn’t worry. And even if they don’t, that doesn’t matter. Mingo’s just going to have to wait.

He’s fighting some small-scale pirates, steadily making his way to the captain of the opposing ship, who waits for him on the deck of his own ship. Sweat runs down Luffy’s temples and the bridge of his nose. He coats his knuckles with haki when one of the pirates he beats to the ground tries to meet his fist with a sword.

Maybe, he thinks in passing as he kicks another grunt through a wall, these pirates wouldn’t be small scale on anyone’s measure but his own and Zoro’s. Nami _had_ mentioned that they were somewhat of a big deal; not that Luffy’s ever heard of them.

Oh well. They’ll get their asses handed to them just the same.

Luffy weaves and ducks under punches and projectiles, grinning like a madman. Even though the timing isn’t the best for this fight, he’s relishing the chance to bruise his knuckles again. They’ve sailed on still seas for far too long, and the long-missed action has made adrenaline burn in his veins once more. Excitement tingles under his skin, and Luffy feels alive.

Zoro blocks a sword that would have taken Luffy’s head otherwise, and behind him Usopp shoots down a man aiming to take out the future king. Luffy gives his sniper a high five and claps Zoro on the shoulder, and then he’s off. The captain is so close, Luffy can see his teeth gleam.

Up close, the captain is a bit more challenging. Not much, but enough to keep Luffy engaged. He has a devil fruit of some sort, a zoan: his hands are more like tall claws, or maybe talons. Each nail is twice the length of Luffy’s palm.

They’re easy enough to avoid, once he’s got the hang of it. As long as he stays focused and waits for an opening, the fight will be over quickly. And then he can get second breakfast.

A loud crash and a frightened yelp. Luffy looks away from the fight for a split second. He knows that shout. Chopper.

Luffy turns his back on the enemy, head whipping to where can see Chopper on the far side of the Sunny, isolated from the rest of their nakama. The enemy has him squirming under a net of some kind — sea stone. Bastards. Luffy clenches his teeth and spares a glance at his opponent. The enemy captain is smirking victoriously, babbling something about how Luffy should surrender before they kill his doctor.

Fat chance.

Luffy tries to leap over the enemy to get to Chopper, who now has two swords pointed at his head, drawing just the slightest bits of blood. The enemy captain doesn’t let him go, kicking him into the main mast. Something stings his arm, but, too preoccupied with Chopper, Luffy doesn’t notice.

Chopper’s yelling insults and threats, though he has nowhere to go.

“Say goodbye to your pet dog,” one of the men threatening Chopper taunts, and then he raises his sword.

Luffy curses low in his throat, doubling his efforts to get to his doctor in time. Chopper’s in danger, and Luffy should have noticed him drifting away from the rest of their group, but he didn’t. And now Luffy’s too far to help him. Where the hell are the rest of his crew?

The sword swings down. Chopper screams.

Luffy feels his anger spike, willpower roll off him in waves. People topple to the ground left and right, and when the dust settles, Luffy hears Chopper cry with relief and joy. Law stands in front of Chopper, his long sword glinting in the sunlight, dripping with blood.

“He’s a reindeer.” Is all Law says, and then he’s using his sword to push the sea stone net off Chopper. “Are you alright?”

Chopper nods. There’s blood on his fur, but it’s not his own. “Thank you for saving me! That was scary.”

“I’m sure it was,” Law agrees.

Luffy looks away from his nakama for two seconds — long enough to slam the other captain through the main mast of their ship, essentially shipwrecking their enemy at sea. He doesn’t spare his fallen enemy a second glance before he’s rocketing to Chopper.

As soon as his sandaled feet touch the Sunny’s deck, Chopper jumps in his arms, huddling against Luffy’s scarred chest. He’s shaking, _shaken_ , and Luffy holds him close protectively. He doesn’t really feel like fighting, and well, he kind of knocked everyone out with his haki, so there’s no one left to fight anymore. He wants to eat and talk to Chopper and thank Law and maybe steal these stupid people’s valuables so Nami will be happy.

“Thanks for saving Chopper, Torao,” he tells Law, very sincerely.

“It’s Trafalgar,” Law says, sighing. “It was no trouble, Straw Hat-ya. We’re allied now, so it’s my duty to keep an eye on your crew. We can’t face Doflamingo with a weakened force.”

Luffy grins. “Yeah, whatever. Are you okay, Chopper?”

"I'm fine," Chopper says, but he's panting and his eyes are wide still, his entire body left rigid and tense from the near death experience.

Luffy doesn't even consciously decide to pull him close again when he does – it feels natural, the hug he gives Chopper as easy as breathing. Chopper needs comfort, and Luffy's more than happy to give it. He rubs small circles into the fur on the back of Chopper’s head, right at the base of his neck, and soon he can hear his doctor's breathing getting back to an even pace.

It’s then that Chopper seems to fall into doctor mode, and his eyes hone in on the blood pouring from Luffy’s arm. “Luffy! Oh no, you’re hurt!” he cries, and he’s totally going to make a big deal out of this. It’s just a small scrape, so it’s nothing to worry about, right? He can’t see the bone, so it’s probably going to heal after a nice meal — at least, in Luffy’s expert medical opinion.

"I can take care of it, Tony-ya,” comes Law’s voice from behind them. “You should get some rest."

Law had been so silent that Luffy almost forgot he'd been standing there too, and he starts as he hears Law, turning to the older pirate fast enough that he can feel a new rush of blood flow from his arm as what little of it had coagulated is torn open.

Law gives him and odd look, and then continues, speaking to Chopper, "The wound is far from life threatening, and you're exhausted. I'll stitch him up for you."

"Ah, no, that's alright. I can take a look at it," Chopper says, but his hooves are still shaking a little.

“Chopppeeer,” Luffy beseeches, stretching out the little reindeer’s name into a sing songy plea. “Torao’s a good doctor too, it’s okay!”

To drive his point home, Luffy digs his fingers gently into Chopper’s sides, tickling him into submission. Chopper laughs, nodding furiously, “Okay, okay, I’ll go! Take good care of him, Torao!”

Law makes a displeased face, as though he considers taking offence to the name. It passes as soon as Luffy sees it appear, and the older captain opts to roll his eyes instead, scowling exasperatedly. “I suppose I’ll have to.”

Luffy deposits Chopper in Brook’s arms, telling his musician to get Chopper to Sanji for some hot chocolate, and then he’s following Law to the Sunny’s infirmary. It’s a bit weird to be sitting on the cot with someone else other than Chopper ruffling through the cabinets and jars, looking for the things needed to take care of the cut (which really isn’t even a big deal).

Law’s fingers are cold against Luffy’s skin, and his bedside manner is way worse than Chopper's — Law spares no time for comfort, which Luffy doesn’t mind, but he also doesn’t smile, doesn’t tell stories or even chastise Luffy about being careless.

No, Law is silent, and his motions are meticulous, practiced and efficient.

He closes the wound with three stitches, wraps a bandage around Luffy’s arm, and then they’re done. Law gets up to clean the supplies and put them away while Luffy stretches his arm, already wondering whether he can take the bandage off by dinnertime.

“Don’t roll around on the ground and try to avoid jumping overboard until it’s properly closed,” Law instructs him. Luffy doesn’t really listen.

“Sure, yeah. I got it.” He doesn’t got it. “Thanks for helping, Torao.”

Law’s back is to Luffy, and he doesn’t turn around to his newfound ally even as he speaks. “It’s no problem. As I said, it’s more advantageous for us both to have everyone in good fighting shape when we face Doflamingo.”

“Yeah, yeah.” On a whim, Luffy jumps off the cot, hugging Law from behind. “Thanks, anyway.”

He feels Law’s body go stiff at the contact, and he jerks, pushing Luffy off far sooner than Luffy would have liked. Law turns around now, and he looks furious, his mouth a thin line.

“Don’t do that again,” he warns, and then leaves, coattails whipping around his legs.

Luffy stays in the infirmary for a moment, puzzled. That was almost like hugging Ace when they were kids — only he didn’t get punched, so it definitely went well, and he should do it again. He shrugs, grinning, and then bounds out of to the deck.

Two seconds later, he tackles Sanji in a hug and gets thrown overboard.

* * *

Later that night, they leave what remains of Punk Hazard in their dust. Law tries to take first watch, and Zoro doesn’t let him.

Luffy knows this because he happens to be out on the deck, dozing off with Usopp after a game of tag that resulted with Usopp getting thrown overboard and being really dramatic about it. Nami went to bed about an hour ago and Sanji’s finishing up with the dishes, so he’s busy, which means that Luffy and Usopp have the deck mostly to themselves. Naturally, that means that they’ve picked the one place that’s off limits to serve as their napping spot — Nami’s tangerine grove.

Usopp’s snoring next to him, out like a light, and Luffy should probably take him to bed and tuck him in before Nami comes out and beats them both up. He’s about to do that, he really is, when he hears low voices carrying from where Caesar is chained on the aft deck, and Law is standing watch.

“This is our ship. We might be allied, but we’re not friends.” He hears Zoro say, and he doesn't sound kind but not unkind, either.

Luffy doesn't get his reasoning at all. Law is their friend, he thinks, the corners of his mouth stretching into a frown. They’re allied now and everything, so he has to be a friend, right?

He's cut off by Zoro's voice, continuing to say, "I'll take watch. You can go sleep somewhere."

“You don't trust me very much. I understand that." Law's voice, calm and measured. "But I think that’s a call for your captain to make, Zoro-ya."

Caesar says something snide that sounds like _'trouble in paradise, already?',_ but someone must give him a well-deserved punch, because he's cut off with a pained grunt.

Luffy takes one look at Usopp, still dead asleep, and shrugs. Usopp will be fine sleeping there, if not a bit sore in the morning. He tries to sneak to the lower deck, but trips on one of the mikan tree roots and falls on the deck with a shout, arms flailing. Zoro catches him around the waist with one arm without even glancing his way.

Luffy grins widely, unashamed. "Hi Zoro! Hi Torao!" Law groans at the nickname he's yet to get used to. He will, though, Luffy knows it. "What's up?"

"Captain," Zoro acknowledges as he sets Luffy down. He never looks way from Law. "I thought you'd be sleeping."

“Not tired!” Luffy says, cheery. “I wanted to come see what you guys are talking about.”

“Nothing,” Zoro says. The weight of his gaze finally settles on Luffy’s shoulders, a comforting presence that Luffy can read better than any book.

He can tell that Zoro still needs time to think about this, needs to see with his own eye that Law can be trusted. He was the same way with Robin before, and that had turned out okay, so Luffy isn’t overly worried.

Or worried at all, really.

"It's fine, Zoro. Torao's not gonna do anything bad." Luffy looks to Law for confirmation. "Right?"

"Right," Law agrees. "We're allied, and I'm on this ship with you until we reach Dressrosa. It'd be stupid of me to try anything."

“See?” Luffy swings an arm around Law’s neck, ignoring the older captain’s protests. He gives Zoro a grin, can see tension leave his swordsman’s set shoulders. Zoro understands. “Torao’s not going to do anything. You can go sleep. Oh, and take Usopp with you, he fell asleep where Nami’s trees are.”

Zoro gives Law one more, hard look, and then he nods, begins to walk away.

Luffy turns to Law, smile still stretching from ear to ear. "Aren't you going to sleep?"

Law's eyebrows climb a fraction higher on his face as he levels a stare at Luffy. "I don't see you asleep either, Straw Hat-ya. Now, if you'll excuse me."

"You're excused," Luffy chirps, but when Law walks away to where Caesar is knocked unconscious at the aft deck, Luffy gambols along. "So, are you hungry? We could go raid the kitchen. With your powers it'd be easy, I bet! You could just cut through the lock like swish, swash," he imitates cutting the air with a lock as he speaks, "and we could eat anything we want! You in?"

This time Law rolls his eyes, sits down on the grass by his prisoner. Their prisoner. Luffy sits down above him on the railing, crossing his legs and resting his hands on his ankles. The air still carries the crisp chill of Punk Hazard's icy side, and Luffy's breath puffs in the air as he exhales. It's not cold for him yet, but usually when it's not cold for him, it's super cold for everyone else.

Luffy tilts his head to the side, questioning. "Are you cold? It'd be warmer inside."

"I'm fine. Someone should keep an eye on Caesar-ya," Law counters, his dark eyes flicking to where the scientist sleeps. His nose crunches with distaste. "Even though he's a waste of space, we need to make sure he gets to Dressrosa with us, or we have no leverage."

"Yeah yeah, you told Mingo that already." Luffy leans his head back, squints his eyes. "It's probably cold though, right? It looks like it's gonna snow."

Law shifts his weight, looks away from Luffy's curious eyes. "I've dealt with cold before, Straw Hat-ya. I'm from the north, after all. You don't need to worry about me."

Luffy nods, and then they sit in silence for a while. Or, whenever Luffy tries to start talking to Law about something he's immediately shot down with resolute quiet, and eventually he runs out of things to talk about.

Snow starts to fall, just as he'd predicted, and it makes the corners of Luffy's mouth quirk up with a smile, because he predicted the weather! Not Nami or anyone else, but Luffy. Maybe he could be a navigator, too, if he really put his mind to it.

Maybe not, though. Weather stuff just seems so boring.

Luffy sticks his tongue out, catches a couple of thick snowflakes on his tongue. Next to him, Law looks at the darkening sky with a blank, completely unreadable look on his face. It's one Luffy's beginning to get used to, and it's kinda irking. Law'd be happier if he smiled, and easier to talk to then, too.

Luffy's shorts are getting soaked from the snow that melts on his skin as soon as it touches him, and though Law's coat is dark Luffy can still guess that he's getting wet too. Being wet when you're out in the cold is bad, and even Luffy knows it.

"You're cold," he states this time, because he, too, can now feel the slightest prickling of goose bumps on his skin.

He thinks for a moment as Law gives no reply, and then makes a mad dash to the men's quarters. His sandals skid on the wet grass, and Luffy laughs wildly, all but bursting into their sleeping quarters. He goes to his own bed, grabbing his blanket while muttering some sheepish apologies to Usopp and Sanji, who are grumbling about the rude wake up call.

It's a thick, weighted blanket that Robin had made for him when they'd reunited, when he’d had trouble falling and staying asleep. It's supposed to help him stay still when it's night time, so he'll be able to sleep easier; but mostly it's itchy and too heavy and Luffy gets too hot when he sleeps with it, so nowadays he just sleeps under either Zoro's lighter blanket, or without one.

Luffy grins when he finds the blanket, squeezes it in his hands to feel the weight and the warmth, and then he rushes out again. Sanji mutters something about shitty captains who never sleep as he leaves, and it makes laughter bubble in Luffy's throat.

He returns to Law with the blanket and a grin, and he shoves it on his newly allied captain's shoulders before Law can do as much as question it.

"There," he proclaims loudly. "This will keep you warm!"

"I said I wasn't cold, Straw Hat-ya," Law starts, but he's already wrapping the blanket tighter around himself. After a moment, Luffy hears a quiet thank you, and his smile grows in size, as if the corners of his lips had adamantly decided to high five the tips of his ears.

"No problem! I still think you'd be warmer inside, though."

"Who'd look after Caesar-ya, then? I assume you're heading to bed soon, with your own blanket?"

"Yeah, I was gonna go to bed. But that blanket is yours now."

Law blinks at him, and then lowers his eyes. "I see... Thank you, Straw Hat-ya."

Luffy laughs. Snow falls on his hair and his nose, gathers in the fur of Law's coat and on the ribbon tied around his tall blade. Moonlight filters through the small layer of clouds that overhangs in the sky, and the waves lap against the Sunny's hull as she rocks on the waves, anchored safely.

Luffy loves being a pirate. He’s got a ship that will carry him to the ends of the earth and a crew that’ll help him get there, and he’s now allied with Law, who’s got his own…

Luffy pauses, eyes flicking to Law under furrowing brows. "Hey, Torao."

"Yes?"

"Where is your crew? The polar bear and the others?"

Something pulls taut at the corner of Law's mouth, much like it had before when Usopp asked him the same question. Luffy waits, wanting to hear the answer, and Law concedes. He shifts his grip on his tall sword before answering. When he speaks, he sounds far more tired than he looks, and that's saying something.

"They're somewhere safe. We... We have parted ways for the time being."

Luffy can't imagine a time he'd willingly leave his crew behind, but he sees the dark look in Law's eyes, remembers Sabaody and two years, and how painful it was to be separated. He thinks that maybe Torao didn't want to leave his crew behind, either.

"I see," Luffy says. “I’m sure you can’t wait for this all to be over, then. So you can see them again.”

Law says nothing to that, only gives a vague gesture that could be intended as a shrug. Luffy doesn’t mind that Law’s so quiet. He’s loud enough for the both of them, and Torao’s smart enough for the both of them. It’s how alliances work, as far as he can tell.

A smile tickles at his mouth, and Luffy feels a rush of contentedness warm his stomach. This feels right — sharing the Sunny with Law feels like a good thing. “I'm glad we're allied, Torao. This way we can have some adventures together."

Law makes a noise that’s something between agreement and dismissal, and Luffy knows he wants to be left alone. He stands up to walk on the slippery railing. His flip flops slip and skid on the ice, so he throws his arms out to his sides for balance.

"I'm going to bed," he calls over his shoulder. "So good night!"

As he says that, his foot slips on the ice, and he loses his balance. Before he has the time to grab the railing, or even register what happened, a blue glow surrounds him, and he's flat on his back in the snow, beside Law.

"What was that?" Luffy asks, dumbfounded. "Did you do that?"

"It's a part of my devil fruit ability," Law says. He speaks indifferently, like it was no big deal that he just _teleported_ Luffy. "I thought you'd fall."

"I wasn’t gonna fall. But that was the coolest thing ever!" Luffy cheers, sitting up. His hands bunch into fists, and he pumps them in the air. "You teleported me from there to here, that was awesome! Can you do that to yourself too, or to Zoro? Can you teleport the Sunny?"

"I didn't save your life so I could give demonstrations of how I did it for the rest of the night, Straw Hat-ya," Law says, eyes shadowed by his hat, mouth drawn into a tight line. "I thought you were going to sleep?"

"Oh, right," Luffy gets up, snickers to himself a bit. Snow’s gathered on the brim of his hat and soaked through the back of his shorts. Luffy loves winter islands. "You're a good guy, aren't you Torao?"

“They call me the Surgeon of Death, Straw Hat-ya. I’m feared. Notorious.”

“Nah. You’re not that bad,” Luffy decides.

"And you're insufferable," Law mutters, probably low enough that he thinks Luffy didn't hear.

Luffy laughs. “I’m not suffering, Torao! I like winter islands.”

Law gives him a dumbfounded look, almost as if he’s torn between ignoring Luffy and murdering him. Eventually, he settles on a deep sigh. “Good night, Straw Hat-ya.”

“Night, Torao!”

When Luffy heads back to the men's quarters this time, he can feel a pair of golden eyes following him.

 _Forming an alliance with Law is a good thing,_ Luffy thinks to himself as he climbs into his hammock. _Torao seems like he could use some more friends._

Even though everyone says that Law’s just a huge creep and a really scary guy, Luffy knows that he’s a good person when it matters — he protected Chopper when he didn’t have to, and he helped the kids back on Punk Hazard. He helped Luffy during the war.

More importantly, Law’s interesting, and Luffy can sense adventure whenever he’s with him. He smiles, half asleep already. He’ll have to ask if Law knows any giants, later. That would be so cool.

Luffy doesn’t stay up for long; the sounds of the sea and his nakama’s snoring lull him into a fast, deep sleep.

Outside, Trafalgar Law keeps a vigil watch, warmed by a borrowed blanket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Behold, my second work for the LawLu Big Bang! This one is a prequel to [Into the Sea](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10610316/chapters/23462169). This story will follow Luffy and Law from Punk Hazard to post-Wano, so there might be manga spoilers. It will be a getting together story from Luffy’s point of view, mostly humour and shenanigans. Since Into the Sea takes place after Wano, I expect Oda will fuck everything over with whatever wild twists canon actually takes. So, this is definitely canon divergence, big time, and there's going to be some minor things I've changed in canon for plot reasons.
> 
> This one will also be posted every two weeks, so the next update will be on the 27th of March. This fic has been betaed by m_rosenkov, whom i owe my whole entire life to. Thank you for editing this mess, May <3
> 
> [tumblr](http://shishiswordsman.tumblr.com/) || [twitter](https://twitter.com/shishiswordsman)


	2. birds of prey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's dressroba time!
> 
> warnings: blood, canontypical violence, talks about depression

The cell is too quiet, too isolated, too boring.

There's nothing to do and no one to talk to but Caesar and Law, and one of them (Caesar) is too damn annoying and the other (Law) is too damn quiet. So, Luffy sits in the cell, the hush a heavy weight on his joints, grating against the inside of his mouth as he breathes it in.

Luffy can’t stay still. He doesn't know how much time has passed since he woke up, but he hopes it isn't much. Every second he spends in this rotten cell is another second away from Chopper, and it must have been hours by now, with no sign of them. A worried stitch forms in Luffy’s brow. He can sense Chopper on the ship when he really concentrates. He doesn’t seem hurt, but his presence isn’t as strong as Luffy would like it to be. He must be scared, alone on a big ship like this.

That Breed guy is creepy and a jerk, and Luffy doesn't like him at all. He deserves an ass kicking that’s going to knock his gloves off. Socks off. Whatever — an ass kicking that will knock off his _everything._ Yeah, that sounds like a plan. The second he comes back he's going to use haki and shove his foot —

"Straw Hat-ya." Law's voice is unsteady, stifled. "Stop moving around so much. Some of us are trying to think."

Luffy cocks his head to the side, because Law really didn’t look like he was thinking. “Who?”

“Well, not Caesar —”

“Hey! I’m the most brilliant out of —”

“Shut up, Clown Guy!”

“— and definitely not you either, Straw Hat-ya. So, what would you guess?”

“Okay, okay. Do _you_ have a plan?”

“No, not yet.” Law sounds mad. Or maybe scared. Or just tired. Maybe all three.

“Are you worried we won’t make it to the meeting with Mingo in time? Because we’ll make it for sure; the Sunny’s suuuper fast, and the next time I see the collar guy, I’m going to beat him up!”

“No, it’s not that,” Law says. He looks pointedly away from Luffy, and refuses to say anything else after, not even when Luffy starts singing or when he tries to tell Law stories. Law doesn't like cages much, Luffy's gathered. When Luffy woke up, Law was already awake; sitting in the corner furthest away from the door, long legs hugged to his chest. He'd been shaking, hadn't yet noticed that Luffy was awake. As soon as Luffy had moved, Law had stopped shaking, but it seemed forced; his body turned stiff when it had been trembling only seconds ago.

Eventually, Luffy falls silent, forcing his body to still despite the nervous energy that makes every hair on his body stand up from their roots. With his eyes trained on the only door to the room, Luffy cracks his knuckles, the sound loud in the quiet cell.

He’s going to get all of them out of here, and he’s going to punch Breed in his stupid face.

* * *

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid jerk. Breed is a bastard and Luffy’s definitely going to get him back for this, for making him sink his knuckles in Law’s stomach against his will.

His body isn’t his own anymore; it’s Breed’s to control, completely at his mercy, leaving Luffy’s powerless in front of his own power.

Luffy doesn’t want to fight Law. Not at all. But no matter how much he tries to stop, or to direct his attacks to _just_ miss Law or hit with less force… He can’t stop. Law’s lip splits and bleeds under one of Luffy’s haki-coated hits, and Luffy grits his teeth, screams in outrage.

Earlier, when it was Chopper who was attacking them, Luffy’s chest had tightened, his lungs rejecting air. His body had felt clumsy, over encumbered with anger because Chopper would _never_ attack them had he had the option not to. And now it’s him hitting Law, and Law’s not even fighting back.

Luffy can tell as soon as they’ve started the fight that Law’s holding back, isn’t hitting him as hard as he normally would, isn’t using his brain to gain the advantage that he would use to deal the killing blow on any other day. Against any other opponent, Law would be ruthless. Now, he’s taking Luffy’s punches, and pulling his own.

He wants to stop, they have no reason to fight, Law is his ally, his friend —

Then, they’re falling, falling, falling, the sea a dark abyss below them, waiting with open arms. A part of Luffy thinks they’re going to die, but a bigger part of him sees Law smirking with confidence, and then he’s not worried anymore. Law said he was thinking about a plan, and now he must have thought of one. Luffy trusts him, doesn’t fight it when the sea gets closer and closer.

Law grabs his shirt, and Luffy startles. There’s a flash of blue, and then they’re back inside the ship.

Law’s standing tall, dusting himself off. Breed’s collar shines less brightly now that they’re further away, but it still illuminates his jawline in an eerie green glow that captivates Luffy for all of two seconds. He shakes himself, shrugging off the near-death experience of the day, and then looks around, spots Caesar, and — wow, this is all turning out pretty well, after all.

“Now we just need to go get Chopper.” Luffy’s voice rumbles from his chest, anger rising with each word that comes out of his mouth. He smacks his fist against an open palm, his lip pulled back around a feral grin. “And I’ve got to kick that bastard’s ass!”

Law narrows his eyes quizzically. He starts cleaning his ears with a finger, and that’s all fine and good but Luffy’s got a nakama to recover. Luffy storms off, dragging Caesar by the lapels of his coat, sandals stomping on the floor.

Law grabs his arm, pulling Luffy back. A growl builds in Luffy’s throat, and he almost knocks into Law as he shakes the older pirate’s hands off him.

“Let go of me! He’s got Chopper.”

“I know. Look.”

Law shows Luffy his hand, as though asking Luffy to hold it, which he almost does. But there’s something in Law’s hand, white and tufty like —

“Why do you have marshmallows? This isn’t a time for snacks, Torao.”

Law pinches the bridge of his nose with his free hand. “They’re earplugs, Straw Hat-ya; I carry them with me. When we were in the cells, I realised that our host needs to give verbal commands for his power to work. If we can’t hear him, he can’t do that.”

“Ohh. So we put those in our ears and he can’t control us?”

“It worked before. He ordered us to fight each other, didn’t he?”

“Yeah! You’re really smart, Torao!” Luffy compliments earnestly, the bright ring behind his words true and honest.

He grabs another set of clean earplugs Law produces from his pocket, and shoves them in his ears. All sounds are swallowed from the world; muffled beyond a thick veil in an instant. Luffy can’t hear what Law says to him now, and he frowns. When he reaches to take the plugs out, Law slaps his hand away, and — oh yeah, right, he was supposed to keep them in his ears.

Luffy snickers, and he thinks he might be yelling — Law shielding his ears is a pretty good clue — when he tries to say; “Oh, right! I forgot!”

He can’t hear Law’s reply, but he can see the corners of the older pirate’s mouth quirk in a small smile. It makes something warm and fluttery tighten in Luffy’s chest.

After they break out from Breed’s island-ship-thing, Law’s withdrawn, sulking silently in the front seat while Chopper dozes in Luffy’s lap. The shark submersible hums quietly around them, the sound reverberating through the walls, the sea around them dark and still.

Luffy pokes at a bruise on his thigh, left by one of Law’s haki-coated punches. It’s not too big, only about the size of his palm, and it’s a fun shade of purple, almost blue enough to blend with his denim shorts. Nami’s going to be mad that he broke another pair again, but she’ll fix them anyway. She always does.

“Hey, Torao,” he ventures after a while, once Chopper’s sniffling has turned into snores and the tension in Law’s shoulders has slowly dissipated into something less touch-me-and-lose-a-hand.

Law doesn’t reply, but he casts his eyes on Luffy’s face. Luffy meets his gaze steadily, says, “I’m sorry I punched you.”

Surprise forms a crease in Law’s brow. “It wasn’t you, Straw Hat-ya. No apologies needed.”

“Yeah, I know it wasn’t me. If it was really me, I would have beaten you.”

“It was still your fighting capability and your attacks; I was the one holding back,” Law points out with a smug smirk. “Don’t be so sure of yourself.”

“Fight me for real after this is over and I’ll show you!” Luffy says, a bit too loudly; Chopper stirs in his lap, and Luffy grimaces, petting his doctor’s head until he falls back into a deep sleep. “Whoops,” he whispers. “Almost woke up Chopper.”

“Perhaps you should shut up, then.”

Luffy grins. “Nah.”

Law shifts in his seat, his attention drawing back to the submersible’s control panel. He taps a couple of buttons to get the numbers to change a bit, and then continues, tone almost conversational now, “We should be at the Sunny in thirty minutes. You can sleep if you want. I’ll keep watch.”

Luffy curls his arms around Chopper tighter, so that the tufts of fur on top of his doctor’s head tickle his chin, and he hums, a low sound from the back of his throat. “I’m not tired. I’ll stay up with you.”

Law mutters something grumpy under his breath that Luffy doesn’t quite catch, and then nods slowly. Luffy watches the seaweed and rocks and fish outside, wondering what Sanji’s going to serve for breakfast and whether they could make food out of seaweed and rocks if it ever came down to it. Sanji probably could.

It takes him a moment to notice that Law’s fidgeting, shifting in his seat every two seconds. He’s staring closely at the control panel, but there’s a distant, faraway look in his eye; like he’s not really seeing a thing. When Luffy brushes a finger against Law’s shoulder, intending to poke the older pirate, Law flinches and swats his hand aside.

“What is it this time?” he asks, ire barely hidden.

Luffy cocks his head to the side. “You said you don’t like cages, right? I get that; it sucks to be inside one, but it’s not a big deal. We’ll always break out eventually.”

Law sighs, shaking his head, and Luffy gets the idea that maybe there’s something more to this.

“I don’t like being controlled, that’s all.” Law’s words are almost voiceless — barely above a whisper and still loud in the quiet submarine. “Sleep or shut up, Straw Hat-ya. Your call.”

“You’re not being controlled,” Luffy tells Law earnestly, ignoring his orders. “You’re free. Pirates are free, Torao, and I’m going to kick Mingo’s ass. I already decided I would, so I’m gonna.”

Law keeps his eyes peeled on the sea. His fingers go tense where he is resting them on the control panel, and Luffy doesn’t rush him.

“You’re a naïve brat, you know. That could get you killed one day,” Law mutters in reply after a long time.

Luffy shrugs one shoulder, and his tone is casual as he says, “Yeah. Maybe.”

Law makes a non-committal sound. He says nothing more after that.

* * *

They get back on the Sunny, and they wait for the news of Doflamingo’s resignation. It takes a couple of days, and it’s boring — no ships in the horizon, no clouds in the sky, no nothing. Luffy’s bored, so he sits on the Sunny’s figurehead and he thinks, sleeps, dreams.

He likes his spot on the figurehead. It’s not like the Merry’s, and that’s neither a good nor a bad thing. Just different. He liked sitting on the ram’s head because he was close to his crew but also close to the sea. The lion’s head is larger, and Luffy’s seat is much higher up. He can still hear his crew, can even shout a word or a command to them in reply, but he’s still a bit separated. It’s where he likes to sit when he’s on watch, too, because he can see most of the Sunny from his seat now. And the more bored Luffy gets, the more he notices things.

Things like Law not coming to dinner, or him sitting on the lawn by Caesar for hours on end, eyes peeled on a thick tome but never turning a single page. The look on his face is blank and shrouded in the shadows his thick hat casts.

Luffy doesn’t like it, because it looks familiar. He just can’t figure out why. When he tries to distract Law or talk to him, he usually either gets ignored or gets his limbs severed from his body. It’s fun, really.

Slowly, as he sits on the Sunny’s figurehead, Luffy begins to piece it all together; the isolation, the self-imposed starvation, the sad looks on Law’s face when he thinks Luffy’s not watching.

Law isn’t… _happy._

He’s seen something similar to this before, first with Ace, and then with Robin. Hesitance, fear, directionless anger — all rolled into one, crumbled and crushed into something dark and festering. It lived in Ace, when they first met, and then in Robin, after they brought her back from the brink. And now, it lives in Law.

Luffy knows what Robin called it, once. The word she’d used for it was long and weird, and Luffy doesn’t remember it. He knows what she was talking about, without knowing its name.

She’d explained it to him when they were sitting in the crow’s nest of their brand-new ship. It had been Robin’s watch, but Luffy hadn’t been sleepy and the sky was full of bright stars that called out to him. He’d climbed up to the crow’s nest, and he’d found Robin staring out to the horizon, a glazed look in her red rimmed eyes, and a faint smile on her face.

“Robin,” he’d started, tentative but firm. “Do you still want to die?”

And Robin had smiled, patted the place next to her on the bench, and when Luffy had joined her and tucked himself against her side, she had explained to Luffy what lingering loss and despair can do to one’s soul.

He recognises it in himself, too. He’d remembered those words later, when he’d woken up on Kuragaina with the loss of his world heavy on his heart. The hopelessness that lives in Law resides in him, as well, though he’s locked it away as a memory, has moved on. He still remembers calling out for Ace until his voice was but a reedy whisper, remembers not wanting to eat, sleep, fight, live.

Law’s screaming in the same way, but he’s silent. Luffy doesn’t like it. He wants to make the screaming stop, and he will.

“I’ve decided,” he starts telling Robin, because who else would he go to about this, “I’ve decided to make Law happy again. He’s sad, like you were, and I want to make it better.”

Robin smiles now like she did then, and once again she pats the place next to her. Luffy sits cross-legged, thinking about ways to make Law happy while she reads. Every once in a while, she finds a bit of the book with adventure in it that she reads aloud, so Luffy can enjoy it as well.

Every once in a while, Luffy pauses in turn, and presents her with some idea to cheer Law up. She shoots down most of them, starting with ‘I could feed him my meat’ (she laughs at that for some reason), all the way to ‘what if I beat Law up in his sleep so hard his nightmares feel it and go away’.

“Depression isn’t something you can just punch away, Luffy,” she tells him, kind but stern, “It’s something Torao will have to conquer on his own.”

Luffy frowns. “That sucks.”

“Yes, it does.”

So Luffy sits, and he thinks some more.

In the end, it boils down to one thing; the one physical object Luffy can see that’s standing in the way of Law’s happiness. All he needs to do is beat Doflamingo, and then Law will have no reason to be sad anymore, right?

Right.

He’s so sure about this plan that he forgets to even mention it to Robin. He bounds out of the library, almost rocketing himself overboard in his excitement. He goes to find Law.

His ally is guarding Caesar, as he’s wont to do more often than not. He looks tired, like he’s going to fall asleep where he sits. There’s a disembodied tongue next to him, and Caesar’s yelling but the sound is muddled, like he’s speaking without a…

_Oh._

Luffy gives up on his initial plan of tackling Law into a surprise hug — it’ll be harder to talk about things if Law’s cut off his tongue too. He sits down beside his ally, instead, leaning back on his hands as he sprawls on the deck. The grass is warm under his skin, and spindrift carried by warm winds hits his face now that he’s this close to the railing.

Luffy closes his eyes and breathes in the smell of the sea.

“Do you trust me, Torao?”

Law shows no sign of hearing him, so Luffy checks that he’s still awake by waving a hand in front of his face. To that, the older pirate scowls and knocks Luffy’s hand away with the hilt of his sword. “What do you want this time, Straw Hat-ya?”

Luffy frowns. “I came to tell you that we’re gonna win tomorrow.”

“So you keep saying. Hopefully, we will.”

“No!” Luffy says sharply. “I’ve decided. I’m beating Mingo up so he can’t make you unhappy again, and then we’ll have a big feast, and you’ll smile. Trust me.”

Law gives him a look, and Luffy finds himself thinking that he likes the way Law's brows pull together a bit as he frowns.

“I don’t really _do_ trust, Straw Hat-ya,” Law tells him. He sounds sincere when he says it, which makes his voice a touch sadder, closed off. “So we can just drop this now. I would like to think, and I can’t do that with you yelling nonsense in my ear.”

Luffy cracks a grin, and as he stands up arms akimbo, he meets Law’s gaze and holds it. “Aa, but I’m telling the truth. You’ll see. I don’t break promises.”

Law sighs, tension gathering in the curve of his scowl. “Like I said,” and he flexes his hand, a shimmering ring of blue gathering on the tips of his fingers, “I want to be left alone.”

With a twist of Law’s fingers and a flash of light, Luffy finds himself sitting back in the library with Robin. Luffy shakes his body like a wet dog, too disoriented to even question what brought him back here.

“How did it go?” Robin asks, even though Luffy had seen the flurry of petals as he appeared in the library, and he knows Robin was listening.

He shrugs. “I guess Torao needs a little more convincing. But it doesn’t matter, I’ll beat Mingo up for him anyway!”

Robin simply smiles.

* * *

That evening, Law pulls Luffy aside, and he explains the plan to Luffy in painstaking detail. It’s the fifth time he’s done this today, and also the fifth time Luffy laughs off Law’s worries while the older captain sighs long-sufferingly. He’s acting all weird, telling this to Luffy and everyone who’ll listen over and over again. It doesn’t make much sense.

Everyone else is asleep, and Luffy was just about to head in himself. They’re alone on the lower deck, and the Sunny feels even bigger now, soaked in the absence of sound.

“What’s the big deal?” Luffy asks Law once he’s done with his lecture. They’ve always made it out of these things with or without a plan, and he kind of tends to forget them anyway. It feels pointless to be so obsessed with something as useless as a plan. “It’s going to be fine, Torao!”

“The big deal,” Law starts, a warning buried in his clipped words, “Is that tomorrow, we’ll face Doflamingo. He’s dangerous, Straw Hat-ya.”

“Cool!” Luffy cheers, excitement thrumming through him.

But Law can’t seem to stay still, and he’s jittery and his words are stiff and stilted, and there’s a guarded look in his eye that compels Luffy to listen. Law explains to him (the sixth time) what he needs to do, what the others will do. His voice is weighed heavy with frustration and something else Luffy can’t name.

“Everything will be fine as long as you can remember to keep a low profile. I doubt you will, so forgive me if I remind you of it every now and again.”

Law’s worrying about nothing. Luffy can totally stay hidden; he’ll be unnoticeable, like a ninja! No one’s going to see him. Luffy tells this to Law with a grin on his face, and the older pirate sighs. He looks so, so tired.

“I think I need a drink,” Law mutters, glancing at Luffy briefly before shaking his head and heading up the stairs that lead to the galley.

Luffy follows him, partly because he has nothing better to do, and partly because Law figured out the password to the fridge earlier that day, and chances are Sanji hasn’t changed it.

Luffy sits on the bar counter, his hands tucked under his knees as he swings his legs. He kicks Law two times on accident, but Law doesn’t even notice. He paces the kitchen, opens drawers and leaves them ajar, searching but never satisfied with what he finds.

Luffy’s inhaling what’s left of the pasta they had for dinner when Law finally finds their alcohol supply.

“I shouldn’t drink,” he hears Law murmur as he opens the bottle and pours himself a glass. “I shouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Straw Hat.” Law’s head is hanging low, chin glued to his chest in between raised shoulders, live with tension. Luffy listens, making an inquisitive noise past a mouthful of soup. “Tomorrow’s an important day.”

“I know, Torao, you’ve told me—”

Law shakes his head. “Tomorrow, I either win, or I die. When it comes down to it, it’s that simple. If something… Shit.” Law trails off. He turns around, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment before his hand drops to his side, and Law’s eyes are boring into Luffy’s. “If something happens to me tomorrow, I’d like for you to deliver a message to my crew.”

Luffy wants to stop him, tell him that nothing’s going to happen, that they’ll win and no one will die. But he isn’t a fool, and he knows how the world works. So, he sets down the kebabs he was eating.

And he nods. “Sure.”

“I want you to tell them I was happy, with them. And.... I would like for you to pass onto them my gratitude. For being my family.”

The words ring with an eerie familiarity, and though they’re not spoken with the final breath of a dying man, a shiver runs through Luffy. He wants to snap at Law, to tell him to pass on the news himself when he sees his crew because like _hell_ is Luffy going to let him die tomorrow.

But then he looks at Law, sees the dark bags under his eyes, the way the white splotches on his skin almost disappear with how pale he’s become over the past few days, and he swallows down all his ire.

He nods a second time. “Okay, Torao.”

Law downs what remained in his glass with a loud gulp, and Luffy watches his jaw work out a lingering stiffness.

“Thank you,” he says eventually, when Luffy’s eaten his fill and the bottle of whiskey is nearly drained.  

Luffy tilts his head, confused, but he can tell Law doesn’t want to talk about this anymore, and he needs to get some sleep. He grabs Law’s hand in his own, the other’s skin slightly clammy and cold, soaking warmth from Luffy’s own fingers.

He gives Law’s hand a squeeze, grinning a little. “Don’t worry, Torao. I’m going to knock Doflamingo out of the sky!”

As he walks out to his blanketless bed, he hopes Law gets some sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be a big day, after all.

* * *

Dressrosa takes everything Luffy throws at it, and still cries out for more.

It tears him into all directions at once, eats him up and spits him out; tendrils of its very core burrowing into his skin and sinews until Luffy thinks he has nothing left. He’s sweating, bloodied and hungry, and he’s not sure if he’ll make it out alive.

In short, he’s having a blast.

“Took you long enough, Straw Hat!” Doflamingo welcomes him, when he bursts through the ground and onto the top of the palace.

He’s right; the fight with Bellamy was long and annoying and needless. Doflamingo has no respect for Bellamy; he used him for cannon fodder and employed his flesh as a human shield. Luffy’d thought he couldn’t despise the former warlord more, but he was quickly proven wrong.

Now, Luffy’s hands are coated in Bellamy’s blood, spilled for no reason. And Law’s been stuck up here, alone.

While he was fighting Bellamy, he heard Law speak with Mingo. He heard yelling. He’d heard gunshots, soon after.

He hasn’t heard anything for a while.

“Where’s Torao?”

“You mean Law?” Doflamingo laughs. “Why, he’s dead.”

“You’re lying!”

Luffy attacks Doflamingo with a roar of rage, throwing punches and kicks. Only a fraction of them meet their mark. He lands on his feet, knees bent, hands fisted in front of him. Doflamingo smiles, and Luffy wants to end him.

It takes him a second to realise he’s standing in something warm and wet. He looks down and sees blood soaking his sandal, but doesn’t realise who it’s coming from right away. Then, he follows the trail to its source, and his eyes widen, his heart skips a beat.

“Torao!” The scream tears from his throat. “What happened to you? TORAO!”

“He’s dead! Can’t you tell?” Doflamingo taunts, sadistic mirth driving the knives buried in the words even deeper.

Luffy’s body trembles, his legs unsteady as he backs away from the pool of blood, away from his ally’s crumpled corpse.

(No, not corpse. Law isn’t dead. Luffy won’t let him die, he decided.)

“It’s a shame, really. He seemed to trust you quite a bit.” Doflamingo laughs. “And now he’s dead. Guess it was his final mistake.”

“You’re lying! Torao’s going to live!” Luffy yell is like the rolling of thunder, wrapped in threat, glazed with terror.

He hears Doflamingo taunting him more, but it registers as nothing more than an afterthought, just like the sting of sharp gravel against his skin as he sinks to his knees. He’s watched Law get shot, and now here he is, missing an arm, battered and bruised and looking like he’s an inch away from death.

“Torao! Wake up!” Luffy shakes Law, but his ally remains unmoving, lying face down on the roof. Luffy can’t tell if he’s breathing. He shakes him harder, but it doesn’t do anything. Law’s…

Luffy’s blood freezes and boils in his veins. His teeth sink into his lower lip, entire body trembling with rage. The taste of metal fills his mouth.

Luffy can’t tell if Law’s breathing or not. He looks dead, and he feels dead; his presence is dimmed, no longer the strong aura Luffy’s used to sensing with his haki whenever he’s around Law. And still, he can’t believe it.

He turns around, a piercing yell building in his chest. He’s about to jump into action, to claw Doflamingo’s eyes out and kick that snot guy to the curb, when…

He hears something.

“Wait, Straw Hat-ya. I’m alive.”  A voice, a familiar presence. Relief rushes through Luffy, and he gasps, eyes blown wide by surprise. Law continues, the words rough and worn, “Don’t turn around, idiot. I have a plan.”

Luffy grits his teeth against a smile, the adrenaline and need for revenge in his chest soon doused with the knowledge that Law is alive, the relief heavy and suffocating. Law tells him his plan in clipped words, spoken with raspy breaths, and Luffy gives an imperceptible nod.

“I hear you’re quite the miracle worker, Straw Hat. Based on our little fight, I doubt taking you down will be hard at all.”

“It’s two against one, now!” Snot Guy says. “We’ll tear you apart. You’ll die a bit before your friends do, when Doffy’s bird cage shrinks and slays them!”

“That’s not going to happen!” Luffy growls, blood smears on his teeth. “This will be over when I finish you off!”

He launches himself at Doflamingo, an animalistic roar torn from his throat like a burst of heat from a volcano. For a moment he forgets that there’s a plan, forgets why he’s here; so enthralled is he in the need to punch Doflamingo hard enough his ancestors cry out from pain.

So, he’s surprised when Law’s suddenly in his place and Luffy’s flat on the ground.

Law attacks Doflamingo, and Luffy clears his head, remembers why this is what they — Law, really — planned.

This is Law’s fight, at the end of the day; and fight Law does. Admiration and pride swell inside Luffy as he watches Law push his demons to their knees, green electricity forking around him and Doflamingo. Like a fly ensnared in a spider’s web, Doflamingo falls prey to the Will of D.

He doesn’t care what’s happened and what’s fuelling Law’s thirst for blood. He doesn’t know what the root of the trouble is, doesn’t understand, doesn’t see the full picture.

Doesn’t need to, either.

He recognises the red-hot and sweltering hatred in Law when he talks to Doflamingo, that drive that pushes Law to the brink of death and past it. He’s ruined his body for a goal like that once, too.

If this was Akainu, and his and Law’s places were reversed, well… Luffy wouldn’t forgive Torao easily for taking that away from him. So he stays put, and he does what he can; keeps Snot Guy — Tremble or Trombone or something — at bay and watches, waits. Law moves so slowly and gingerly that it looks painful, must be painful, and anger burns a hole inside Luffy.

He pushes himself to his feet, leaning one hand against his knee. A nasty cut left from Doflamingo’s strings opens and begins to bleed again, and Luffy’s fingers are painted red with his own blood.

Luffy’s knuckles itch to sink into Doflamingo’s flesh, to disjoint and break and defeat. It’s hard to stay still, but he does, digging his heels into the ground to keep them there. He takes his frustration out on Snot Guy, in the meantime. He can’t interfere with Law’s fight.

The green lightning builds, crackles in the air. It illuminates Law’s silhouette, casting him in dark, sharp shadows. Luffy digs his heels firmer in the ground, until the tiles crack under his feet.

It grows to a crest above Law and Doflamingo, and Luffy can see Law’s knees buckle, can see the opening it gives the former warlord. When Law finally collapses, Luffy has his back. He kicks Doflamingo into a wall and through it, but Doflamingo is good at fighting, knows when to wade through Luffy’s attacks and when to return them.

Doflamingo claws at the air, and Luffy can hear his flesh splitting before he feels it. He cries out as he’s knocked out from the sky, five new gashes opening and bleeding in his chest and stomach. He lands on the tiles, sandaled feet skidding from the momentum.

Law’s panting, staring up to the sky. Luffy’s not a doctor but he knows death when he sees it, and right now it’s here; lingering over Law, ready to sink its claws in his chest and down his throat.

Doflamingo ties them up with his strings, and suddenly Luffy can’t move no matter how hard he struggles. Despite his injuries, he fights, fresh blood painting the roof where his arm used to be.

Luffy hears Law shout; a reedy, furious cry wrapped around a single word.

“No!”

And Luffy’s mind flashes back to Breed’s cell, the cold metal floor under his bare knees, the hatred and shame coursing through him like poison. He remembers the way Law would run his fingers on his arms and legs, as if checking for something, searching, and Luffy thinks of Doflamingo’s strings, understanding making his breath come out in a rush.

‘I don’t like being controlled,’ Law had told him, the words heavy with the confession buried in them.

Luffy struggles harder, until the skin of his wrists bleed and bruise.

Doflamingo walks to Law, long feet covered in soot and grime and blood. He’s unhurried in his pace, speaking sweet words laced with murderous intent. Luffy knows without a shadow of a doubt that he will kill Law, if Luffy doesn’t get to him first.

“I really must thank you,” Doflamingo says, his voice something between a purr and a blood curdling growl, “You exhausted yourself so marvellously, trying to take me down. You haven’t learned anything, have you, Law?”

“Go to hell,” Law snarls.

Doflamingo comes to a stop right next to him. “No, it’s a good thing. With the emergency surgery I’m performing on my organs, I can last a bit longer. You, however, have self-destructed.” Doflamingo tilts his head back and laughs, long and filled with malicious mirth.

When Luffy tugs on the strings this time, they feel weakened.

“Now, I can crack your skull.” Doflamingo smirks, licking his lips. “Goodbye, Law.”

He lifts his foot, and brings it down above Law’s head. Law yells, frustration, pain, and raw rage tumbling together and tearing from somewhere deep within him.

Right before he’s crushed, Luffy appears. The clash of haki that follows feels like heavens split in two around them, like it cuts away a piece of the universe. The pressure of Doflamingo’s will pushes against Luffy’s own, unrelenting.

Luffy refuses to back down.

After it’s over, Snot Guy yells something. Luffy doesn’t care.

“Torao!” he says sharply. Law stares at him in shock. “Are you alive?”

Law blinks, letting out a shuddering exhale. “Yeah, Straw Hat-ya. I’m alive.”

Luffy nods, and he finally lets himself loose. He throws himself into the fray, tearing into Doflamingo. He pushes him away from Law, over to the opposite edge of the roof. He gets Doflamingo to fall on his knees once, but it’s a success short lived.

Doflamingo lands a good hit on him, and Luffy tastes blood.

He‘s flung back from the force of the strings slamming into him, all the way to where Law lies, crumpled on the ground. When he lands, the world around him blurs, and all he can hear is his heart, thundering in his ears.

Snot Guy ties him up in the sticky stuff he exudes before Luffy even realises what’s happening. Luffy punches it with haki, tries to chew through it, struggles and thrashes. It’s all in vain. He’s stuck, the spider turned into a fly.

A yell builds in his throat, lips pulling back around a rage filled shout, because Law’s in a similar position. His ally lies flat on the roof, and Luffy can tell he’s running on fumes and pure hatred. His jaw is shut tight, teeth clenched hard enough that it must hurt. He’s trembling, skin pale and ashen. He’s lost a lot of blood.

Law needs to win, here. But now he can’t even move.

Luffy won’t accept that. He refuses to give up, to lose to Doflamingo on this rooftop. It’d be the same as betrayal, breaking the promise he made to Law on the Sunny. Luffy refuses to do that. They must win.

Law meets eyes with Luffy, and Luffy watches him inhale deeply.

Then, things happen very quickly. In the end of it, Snot Guy is defeated, felled by Law’s disembodied arm. Luffy’s heart beats faster than a hummingbird’s, and a wide grin spreads on his face. He cheers for Law, whooping and throwing his fists in the air. Law doesn’t smile back. He’s panting, clinging to life by the skin of his teeth.

He’s done enough. Luffy can take it from here.

His ally is a dead weight. He’s limp, almost like a doll in Luffy’s arms as he carries him to the edge of the roof, golden eyes reddened and unfocused. Law blinks slowly, and Luffy can tell it takes a lot out of him to stay conscious. He comes to a stop, tips of his toes almost hanging off the edge of the broken tiles.

“I’m sorry, Torao,” he mutters to Law, though the older pirate doesn’t look like he’s hearing the words. “I know you wanted to do this. I’ll get it done, though, so don’t worry.”

Law looks at him blearily. Luffy takes that as the acquiescence it is. He sucks in a deep breath, sensing the presence of his archaeologist.

“ROBIN!” He yells. “TAKE TORAO TO SAFETY!”

“Luffy!” Robin’s voice carries, tinged with concern. “Throw Torao to me!”

“Thanks! Torao’s already done his part to weaken Mingo!”

Robin will make sure Law makes it out of this. Luffy trusts her with him.

Doflamingo follows, and Luffy knows he won’t let Law go, doesn’t want to cut away the strings that bind Law to him. He flings both Law and his arm to Robin, and he lingers at the precipice for long enough to see her catch him. Law’s safe, now.

Doflamingo, however... not so much.

Luffy’s foot is shining with armament haki as he sinks it in Doflamingo’s stomach. He cracks his knuckles, waits for the corrupt king to get on his feet, and at last embraces the rage that’s been building ever since they got to Dressrosa.

His voice is dark, only barely above a growl. “You’re not going to get Torao, Mingo.”

* * *

Luffy watches as Doflamingo twists his fingers, much like Law would when he uses his power and forms a room.

They’ve been fighting for what feels like years, and Luffy’d known this would be hard — Mingo’s a warlord, like Law is, like Crocodile.

He remembers the pain and the painful determination that engulfed him in Alabasta, the sand pushing into his eyes and sticking to the blood that ran down his skin.

In many ways, Dressrosa reminds him of Vivi’s country.

Doflamingo comes out of nowhere, and his foot isn’t even coated in armament as he kicks at Luffy’s head. It still sends the younger pirate hurtling through the air, careening into the roof. He lands in a small crater, winded. Doflamingo descends upon him like a bird of prey.

Strings pierce his shoulders, and Luffy swallows a cry of pain. He climbs out of the hole he’s in, punches Doflamingo through at least a couple of floors. And he collapses. There’s blood on the rooftop below him, blood on Luffy’s lips, blood on his knuckles. It’s getting hard to breathe.

He twists his head to the side, regaining his bearings.

They’re high up here on top of the palace; high enough that Luffy can see the whole city from where he’s fallen. From the moment he stepped on Dressrosan soil, Luffy’d known there was something dark and twisted beyond that shiny exterior — a façade that’s now dropping away, revealing the city’s true spirit. The strings Doflamingo has used to bind Dressrosa are fraying under the pressure Luffy and Law are putting on them, cracks forming on the mask that enveloped the whole city. What Luffy now sees is maybe not pretty, but it’s more real than anything Dressrosa’s been pretending to be for years.

Luffy sees pillars of fire flare high down below on street level, and for a moment he wonders if those are Sabo’s flames, if his brother is fighting down there just like Luffy fights up here.

He’s still reeling from it all _(Sabo Sabo Sabo Sabo Sabo is alive, Sabo…)_ , but there’s hardly time to stop and think about it.

Doflamingo rises again, and the fight continues. Luffy attacks Doflamingo with everything he has, moving on instinct. His focus narrows into one thing and one thing only: defeat Mingo.

He isn’t fast enough.

Doflamingo pins him down, his hulking frame towering over Luffy, dwarfing him. His teeth gleam bright white as he smirks, licking his lips.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Straw Hat.”

Luffy squirms violently underneath Doflamingo, but the older pirate weighs him down.

“No need to be so rowdy, brat. I simply wanted to talk some sense into you.”

“Shut up, Mingo!”

Doflamingo ignores him. “He’s going to betray you, you know. He’ll use you this once, and leave you with nothing. It’s what he does. It’s what he did to me!”

“Get off me, we’re in the middle of a fight! Bastard!”

The warlord pushes closer to him, shades catching the glint of flames. “Law will _ruin_ you and your crew. He’ll leave you to die here without a second thought — you’re giving up your life for nothing. Do you understand that, boy?” Doflamingo growls, and his breath washes hot and bloody on Luffy’s face.

Luffy growls. “I don’t care!”

He thinks about Sabo and the nobles, about Bluejam who told him Sabo would be happier without him and Ace. He thinks about Nami, suffering to save her village. He thinks of Robin, sacrificing herself for them in Water Seven.

He thinks of Law, saving him when he slips off the Sunny’s banister, saving Chopper. He remembers Law reading on the Sunny, with Chopper curled up beside him, talking about some herbs with excitement. He closes his eyes.

“You’re lying. Law’s not like that.”

“You’re mistaken, Straw Hat —” Doflamingo starts, sneering.

Luffy doesn’t let him finish. He throws his head back, still flat on the ground, and he fills his lungs with air in a single, huge inhale.

“TORAO!” he shouts, his vocal chords tearing from how far he strains his voice to carry. “YOU’RE OUR FRIEND!”

His voice echoes over the war-riddled country, like a like a sharp gale carrying his words across oceans. Luffy knows Law heard him. As long as he’s alive, he’ll make sure Torao always hears him.

Doflamingo looks taken aback for a moment, his nose crinkling in distaste for half a second. He actually takes a step back from Luffy, gives him room to breathe. Then, he laughs, but he doesn’t sound amused.

“You’re delusional. I thought you were simply cocky, but this is something else. Friends?” He says, cruelty twisting the words into something ice-cold. “Trafalgar Law doesn’t do friends. If you let him leave with you, he will lead you to slaughter.”

Luffy doesn’t reply. Harsh coughs rattle his chest, and drops of red gather on his skin as he wipes his mouth with the back of his fist. His entire body shakes, and he’s pushed past his limits, each tendon, bone and muscle straining under the effort of simply existing.

Luffy grins, but there’s no humour on his face. And he stands up.

The fight’s not over yet.

He kicks off his sandals, rolling his shoulders in their sockets.

“Torao’s my nakama now, Mingo. I don’t care what you say about him.” Luffy pants, his knees wobbling, body held up with sheer adrenaline and determination. “My friends… You made them cry, you made them mad! I’m gonna beat you up for it!”

Luffy lifts his hand to his mouth, skin coating in haki, tendrils of black blooming from the tips of his fingers, encircling his wrist and trailing all the way to his forearm.

“You and your birdcage are in my way!” Luffy’s eyes narrow.

_“Gear fourth.”_

As soon as he’s said that, Luffy bites into his thumb, and energy courses through him, like waves cresting on tall rocks, fierce winds tearing ships asunder.

Win or die. There’s no other outcome, no other option.

(Luffy must win. For Law.)

He fights Doflamingo, and he fights, and he fights. The fight feels like it lasts hours, but it’s over in the blink of an eye.

The world bleeds into punches and kicks and attacks, until there’s no longer room for thought, no thought for dodging. His focus sharpens into an edge tempered with rage and stubborn determination.

It becomes a test of endurance, and Luffy endures. Ultimately, he wins.

After the last punch has landed, Doflamingo is unmoving, his sunglasses cracked, pieces of them scattered around his head like a broken halo. Luffy smiles weakly, though he’s too tired to be entirely sure of why. His body is a cacophony of aches and pains and immeasurable fatigue; the fight draining from him with each drop of blood he’s losing. He falls from the sky, his consciousness waning. He can feel the wind tearing at his clothes, air pushed out of his lungs.

In passing, he wonders if Sabo’s nearby. He’d like to see him.

The impact never comes. A rock clatters to the ground some ways from him, and Luffy lays on the war-raged streets of Dressrosa. He’s given his all.

“Straw Hat-ya.”

Luffy looks at Law, bleary-eyed, struggling to stay conscious for long enough to hear what Law has to say.

“I thought Robin… She was going to take you to safety,” he mumbles, groggy.

Law shakes his head tiredly. “I chose to stay behind. I wanted to see this.”

“Mingo’s down,” Luffy tells him, because suddenly it’s important to him that he makes sure Law knows. “We did it.”

Law looks at him, incredulous.

“I didn’t think I’d… I didn’t want to…”

The older pirate takes a long, raspy breath that rattles in his lungs and comes out with a splash of blood on his lips. For a moment, Luffy worries Law’s about to die. He can’t die.

Luffy pushes himself to his side, even though the small motion makes his entire body pulse with fresh, raw waves of agony. Sleep calls to him, but Luffy ignores it. “T’rao? You okay?”

“I will be.” Law looks at him, and Luffy thinks he can see a tear roll down his cheek, snot dripping from his nose. Maybe he imagines it. Law coughs a little, and then continues, “Thank you, Luffy-ya.”

Luffy wants to laugh but can’t find the energy to, so he smiles instead, a wide but weary grin. There’s blood on his teeth, smears of red.

“I decided, 'member?” he tells Law. The words come out slurred.

He did decide, way back on the Sunny, back on Punk Hazard — with the snow pushing in his bones and Law staring into nothingness with that look of sadness. It’s done now. Mingo’s fallen. Law’s free.

The edges of his mind fuzz and fade, and he can't hear what Law says, then. Doesn't need to.

This time, when the darkness comes, Luffy doesn't fight it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes about canon: the chapter opens with scenes from a filler arc, called "the Caesar retrieval arc". If you havent seen it, I recommend checking it out, but I'll explain it in short here. The Sunny is attacked at night, and Caesar is taken. Luffy, Law and Chopper pursue, but once they get to Breed's ship (Breed being the guy who captured Caesar. Yeah, that's his actual canon name), they're collared by Breed's devil fruit, which makes them follow his every command. The rest unravels more or less as it happens in this chapter. Also, as some of you might notice, some things with the fight are changed to suit my nefarious plans. Most notably, Luffy calling out to Law in Dressrosa, and telling him they're friends. Now, I had no reason to write that in, except for the fact I wanted to. Which really kind of is a good reason.
> 
> This chapter was once again betaed by [mrosenkov!](https://archiveofourown.org/users/m_rosenkov/works) You're amazing, May. As I keep telling you, I owe you my whole entire life.
> 
> This fic might get longer than 5 chapters, btw. I'm editing them now, and some might have to be split in two chapters. I'll keep you posted o/ Next up: The aftermath of Dressrosa, and the voyage from Dressrosa to Zou
> 
> [tumblr](http://shishiswordsman.tumblr.com/) || [twitter](https://twitter.com/shishiswordsman)


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